The huge popularity of Cubic Zirconia or CZ in short is attributable to its ability to substitute itself as a desirable substitute for the more expensive diamond itself. Most Gemologists agree that the visual characteristics of CZ match closely with that of diamond, and even trained personnel in gemology cannot differentiate them with naked eyes. For the ordinary pair of eyes with no knowledge of gemology CZ looks very similar to diamonds. A closer inspection would however reveal a marginally lesser brilliance compared to a diamond and an excess dose of fire or flash of color. Originally, the Russians are credited with the development of CZ primarily for the Russian space program. This exercise was to provide an alternative for diamonds used in optics of lasers. The refractive index, hardness and dispersion of CZ are so close to diamond making it so uncanny.
How do we differentiate CZ jewelry?
To distinguish CZ jewelry from diamonds, it is essential to employ gemological equipments such as a loupe, microscope etc. While the hardness of diamond reads 10 being the hardest material known to mankind, CZ measures between 8.5 and 9 on Mohs? hardness scale. Glass/sand measures 5 to 6 which means that dust and dirt cannot cause scratches on your CZ jewelry. CZ can however cause scratches on glass which again is good news for your CZ jewelry because it provides resistance to chipping.
Weight
When it comes to weight, the CZ is a heavy weight counterpart compared to diamonds with a typical comparison notching upto 175% in weight in relation to diamond. This is again great news for CZ jewelry lovers because the weight of a similar sized diamond jewelry will be nearly half of the CZ jewelry.
CZ is colorless and flawless
While diamonds tend to carry impurities or some kind of defects, CZ is generally flawless. When we consider, colorless diamonds are among the rarest and most diamonds will have brown or yellow tinge. CZ on the contrary can be manufactured to be colorless comparable to ?D? on a color grading for diamonds.
Other factors
Identification of gems through visual inspection, in most cases is more a wild guess work than a scientific authentication. Even qualified gemologists need to be employ gemological equipment to precisely test and verify the quality of gems. The CZ while being inexpensive and durable is close to diamonds in sheen and appearance and can be sourced in any rainbow colors making them more appealing. A number of attempts to get jewelers inspect CZ with naked eyes to differentiate from diamonds have seldom been conclusive. Visual inspection was inadequate to determine the difference which asserts the value of CZ jewelry.
Everybody knows that diamonds are natural and expensive while CZ is an artificial product with qualities that are close match to real diamonds, particularly when they are employed in jewelry. The lower price at which CZ jewelry is available to customers around the world is perhaps denying CZ its due place in the jewelry
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